Useful Idiot

1 hour ago, 1984Echoes said:

 

Maybe I'll even convince him to give it a year... just one.

 

Regrettably, I don't  really have much choice in the matter do I? 😱

Obviously there is a range of opinion even here amongst the  members, as to what Harris' role even will be. One insisting that Harris would never have accepted the position without autonomous power, while another asserts he is just a cog in the machine.   I believe if I were a "troll", I'd be focusing on trying to get those factions at each other's throats. 

Greatly condensed, I believe that Avila did exactly the job he was being paid to do, assemble a team cheaply, and con the fans into believing  the organization wanted to win.   His firing and replacement was just stage craft. Just a more elaborate con being fed to the fans, by an owner having priorities other than baseball.

We are being shined-on in other words, and Harris is just a tool in that strategy.

Because if winning WERE TRULY a priority, the formula isn't a secret, just look at the teams  that have won the most games the past five years, and emulate that. Load up on talent, dominate the opposition, and smile.

But we are not doing that, we are playing games trying to build a low $$ commitment roster, and pretending doing so is "smart" baseball.

I just don't feel the obligation to turn a blind eye to the lies

Don't really care

12 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

Your cage mates are going to vote for me?  

You know what I'm talking about. 

That should get you quite a few votes from the monkey cage.

1 minute ago, Longgone said:

It's not even good trolling. No one could disagree with anything because it's just goofy nonsense. Any debate would be futile.

I've often felt the very same way about criticism here directed at me by others. They disagree, but finding themselves incapable of meaningful rebuttal, they descend into petty insults and that silly little "monkey cage" game that is so popular here. 

I  think it would be funny if either Reyes or one of the Castros pulled a "Cameron Maybin" and latched a free ride to the world series with another team.

It's astounding how many former Tigers have gotten World Series rings elsewhere since we became focused on our "future"....even Anibal and 'Nando

5 minutes ago, CMRivdogs said:

Now you're just trolling, 

 

OHHH!!  The evil "T" word.  I guess I've really been had?  lol

News for you, over half the members here are "trolls",  they just happen to be regulars .

Just now, CMRivdogs said:

Now you're just trolling, 

Not very useful here

It was point specific sarcasm. I've been targeted with enough diminutive that I feel entitled to serve 'em back

B-b-b-but he was a left hand hitting infielder that Zeus Harris insists we need more of, and his career era was lower than half our pitching staff  

2 minutes ago, 1984Echoes said:

 

They need 1 year to heal themselves.

What did they "heal" by getting rid of Hittin Harold?

Let's face it, that .340 obp has VERY LITTLE to do with Baddoo remaining on the roster. He's  still with us because he's "young and dumb".  And by  "dumb" I'm not meaning that as a slight against his intellect, I'm just using the expression as a metaphor for "not having sufficient service time to command a payday"

Just now, gehringer_2 said:

Baddoo  is one of the few baserunners that pressures the other team. Baddoo's good luck is that you might be able to teach him to be a more adequate fielder, which is currently is not, but you can't teach slow guys to run fast.

He was caught stealing 40% of the time.

18 minutes ago, Edman85 said:

"We need to add right-handed OF" is a lot more political than saying "Victor Reyes is sub-replacement level and we don't want to use a 40-man spot on him."

Over-parsing the few media availabilities and judging based on three weeks of the offseason, the three weeks that are most often used for pruning, is ridiculous.

 Ridiculous for YOU, perhaps. Please don't underestimate me. 

Akil Baddoo is a sub replacement level, left hand batting outfielder, too. So why is he still around? Cheap and controllable much? 

And THAT, in a nutshell, is it. This organization is not making any progress. We are still basing our decisions on money, more than any more meaningful criteria. 

Same ol' same ol'

And let's not forget "We need to control the strike zone"...he really pulled the Excalibur  sword out of the stone with that one.  

I'll bet Jim Campbell sat up in his grave with THAT revelation.

2 hours ago, Edman85 said:

Y'all do realize that Harris's job is mostly hiring and managing front office personnel and processes, right?

Well, lets see...he's used "We need to add right handed bats in the outfield" as his rationale for letting Reyes go, and has at the same time insisted we need to add left handed bats to the infield as his excuse for getting rid of Candy.

I'd like to think if  we have a worthy leader he'll be at least smart enough to  organize his agenda sufficiently into a cohesive whole before sputtering half baked imperatives.   He's not on any fast track towards impressing me, thus far.

If one is going to lie, they at least need to lie well.  I realize that is a tad harsh, but still fitting.

15 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

This about Reyes.  Isn't it?  

You've given me a great idea though. Remember those old "I coulda had a V-8!" commercials?

If Harris' strategy ends up being as I suspect, and he brings in a bunch of never-has-beens with low service time to fill the openings he's created, I think I'll use the "He coulda had a Victor Reyes" as a taunt to celebrate  when one of his freshmen falls short. 

13 hours ago, 1984Echoes said:

You should have no expectations whatsoever for 2023.

Except for the organization to heal itself. 

Both on and off the field.

The record doesn't matter in 2023...

LOL, King 84 has spoken!!  SORRY 84, I'm not conceding expectations just because the house of Chrissy is in disarray.   Organizations that win on the cheap happen, but are flukes.   Top talent earns top dollar for a reason. 

So long as they have you  "on board" with this dime store mentality that we can emulate the 2015 Royals, they own you.  Free your mind...etc.

15 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

This about Reyes.  Isn't it?  

Not in the context you likely suppose.  I recognize the imperative for the new leader to make changes. And so long as the bodies he brings in to fill the vacancies he's created are clear and obvious upgrades, then I'm behind him.

But if he brings in replacements whose only distinguishing characteristics are  "unproven quality" as well as less service time...then yeah, I'm gonna feel we are being hosed.

In short,  If the outcome is better players,.. then YAY!!  but if cheap and controllable is the goal, then skarew him. I can't be any more truthful than that

Trouble is, the organization's goals have been "cheap and controllable" for so long, yeah I am a bit prejudiced, I suspect they are still in that channel. 

5 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

Catcher is asolutely weak, but that's true for almost everyone other than KC (and even Sal is getting old) so that would be the place you might just have to live with being bad because there just are no options.

Personally I felt that Rogers was exceeding expectations until he was injured. I remember seeing him leg out a triple that even the game announcers were awed by.

Perhaps giving Reyes a shot at catcher might be a way to get a left handed bat into the infield?   

1 minute ago, Longgone said:

So Chris' ego is such that it will only allow him to acquire mediocre ballplayers. That statement is inane to the point of embarrassment. 

Second, the thought that signing top free agents is the only way to build a club, and "prove yourself", that's equally absurd.

Thanks for your support.

8 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

so putting Chris Ilitch aside, about whom none of us really know jack squat, now that the cuts have been made what are we left with:?

Starting Pitching: 

ERod, Manning, Turnbull, Wentz, Faedo, Brieske, Alexander, possible Skubal post ASB

Relief Pitching:

Soto, Cisnero, Jimenez, Roni Garcia, Lange, Alexander, Foley, Hill

After one or two are inevetably lost to the DL that should make 13 or so. With Skubal and Mize both likely to be back in '24 any kind of long term starting pitching signing seems a lower priority than other holes but at least one 'prove it in ST" tryout signing also seems inevitable....

Position Players:

C : Haase, Roger  - (Seems like a signing is in order here)

1B: Torkelson - (either has to hit or be replaced - can K. Carpenter learn 1st?)

2b: Schoop - (do we trust him to have a comeback yr?)

SS: Baez

3B: Kreidler/Short/Clemens/Ibanez/TBA (Help us Obi-Wan Kanobi, you're our only hope!)

RF: Austin Meadows/TBA

CF: Greene

LF: Baddoo/Haase/Meadows

DH: Cabrera, Carpenter, Haase

So where does it hurt the most? I know most of the focus has been 2B/3B and OF, but I think the power vaccuum at 1B/DH is just as bad. As of now there this no fallback if Torkelson doesn't come around, and enough has been said about Cabrera. It would be a huge help if Carpenter is more than one month flash in the pan.

I am concerned by an article I read suggesting there is a questionmark at catcher.   Perhaps Rogers is not recovering as well as we all hope?  I'd like to think that Hasse has earned a return, but the article I read didn't set that in stone, ether.

15 minutes ago, mtutiger said:

Wouldn't it be easier / make more sense to fire Avila with the intent to hire someone with the idea they can build a winner?

Make more sense, to whom? You/me, or a team owner spending the lions share of his money on urban redevelopment?   A "stall" makes sense if he's got a "higher use" in mind for the money available to him.

I'm not insisting this necessarily is the reason, I'm just showing you how varied and contending priorities might be a factor

I really don't believe that I've set the bar excessively high here.  Simply bring in some players who are obvious upgrades to fill the holes YOU'VE created in our roster (and not some equivalent placeholder player  who's only benefit is more head room on their service time)

And

play .500 ball

Do that, and i'm fine.

But, if he  instead replaces Castro, Reyes, and Candy with warm bodies whos main virtue is less service time, and we play .400 ball...then I've seen the light.

You see? it's really Chris' credibility being protected...a matter of ego.  "Don't blame our failure to produce on me, I'm surrounded by incompetence",.... GIVE ME MORE TIME TO FIX  etc?

7 minutes ago, mtutiger said:

 

That doesn't make any sense... a "stall tactic" would have been to make a bunch of excuses for why it was a bad year while retaining Avila.

"Stall" in the sense of "We need time to regroup in consequence to these changes.

If you really want to pretend that you don't understand just because you disagree with me, there is really nothing I can do that is likely to change your mind. But, I've read enough of your other posts to know that you are smart enough to understand my point. Even if you disagree. So let's dispense with the charade?